Question

research by daniel f. carlson and colleagues found that seagrass mortality during florida bay’s 1987 - 1991 die - off concentrated on mudbanks rather than in neighboring deeper basins—a spatial pattern the scientists attributed primarily to the ____ of the affected areas, which meant that water there could not effectively buffer against the rapid temperature increases caused by sustained solar heating.
1 mark for review
which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
a toxicity
b shallowness
c stratification
d narrowness

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze the context: the seagrass mortality was on mudbanks (vs deeper basins), and the issue was water not buffering temperature increases. Let's evaluate each option:

• Option A (toxicity): The text doesn't mention toxins, so this is irrelevant.
• Option B (shallowness): Mudbanks are shallow. Shallow water would heat up faster (and not buffer temp changes well) compared to deeper basins. This fits the context of solar heating affecting temperature.
• Option C (stratification): Stratification refers to layering (e.g., of water), but the text is about depth (mudbanks vs deeper basins), not layering. So this is incorrect.
• Option D (narrowness): Narrowness refers to width, but the text contrasts mudbanks (shallow) with deeper basins, not narrow vs wide. So this is incorrect.

Answer:

B. shallowness